


Count on Me

by JehBeeEh



Series: Ahead by a Century [42]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Family Fluff, Fluff, For the most part, M/M, baby talk, surrogacy talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23033965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JehBeeEh/pseuds/JehBeeEh
Summary: “So, what was the appointment you guys had that made you change our plans?” Natasha finally asked, making Steve chuckle. He knew her too well, and had no doubt she had been dying to ask since they walked in.“Well, we were going to tell you guys tonight…” Tony started, looking fondly at his husband. Steve stretched out over the island to grab his hand as brown eyes silently asked if they should tell them now.“If you must know… I promise it was for a good cause."
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Ahead by a Century [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1514069
Comments: 16
Kudos: 151





	Count on Me

“Steve! There are Gremlins in our house!” Tony called out to his husband when he saw Bucky sitting on his couch, as Steve made his way up the stairs behind his husband.

Bucky chuckled as he got up to take the bags Tony had carried in, greeting both Steve and Tony as they walked in to their home. They joined Natasha in the kitchen, everyone greeting each other and pitching in to help put away their groceries, happy to see each other after a month apart.

“How was the honeymoon?” Natasha quickly asked when they were all settled.

“It was fantastic! I think Italy was my fave. It was stunning,” Steve replied.

“I don’t know, that Villa in France was pretty spectacular,” Tony chimed in as his husband rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, kinda figured you liked it when you bought it,” Steve teased him as Natasha made a confused sound. “Don’t even ask. You guys’ll need to borrow it some day,” he added to Nat and Bucky, as the other couple eyed each other, smiling.

“Might take you up on that,” Bucky replied, kissing the top of Nat's head.

Steve made himself and Tony lunch while Natasha and Bucky kept asking about their trip, Bucky standing besides the redhead, rubbing her back sweetly, as she sat next to Tony at the kitchen island. His husband was going on about some of the museums and restaurants they'd visited, and how excited Steve would get at all the amazing art they had seen, even pulling out his phone to show them a few pictures. The blond loved how comfortable his friends were with Tony, making his heart swell with happiness at how easily all the parts of his life had meshed. They'd been his family for as long as he remembered, and he couldn’t imagine what he would have done if they didn’t get along.

“So, what was the appointment you guys had that made you change our plans?” Natasha finally asked, making Steve chuckle. He knew her too well, and had no doubt she had been dying to ask since they walked in.

They’d made plans to hang out on the Saturday after they returned so he and Bucky could watch the last regular season hockey game for the Rangers that afternoon and then have dinner together. When they'd decided to start trying to expand their family while on the last leg of their vacation, they'd started contacting a few places and the only time one of the agencies had to see them was that Saturday, which was how they ended up being a bit late to their own get together.

“Well, we were going to tell you guys tonight…” Tony started, looking fondly at his husband. Steve stretched out over the island to grab his hand as brown eyes silently asked if they should tell them now.

“If you must know… I promise it was for a good cause. We do feel bad for making you guys wait, it was just the only time they had… We had an appointment at a fertility clinic,” Steve finished almost cautiously, not sure how exactly his friends would react.

The topic of family and children had come up numerous times between the three of them for various reasons – including a one-night-stand turned pregnancy scare back in their college days – so neither of them were likely to be surprised to hear that they wanted children. Steve still wondered what they might think, given the route they were thinking of. Plus, this was the first time they really told anyone this was a concrete plan now, which was scary in its own way. Steve was sure about their decision. He had no doubts about starting a family with Tony, or their timing, but telling people made it that much more real, like others had a stake in it now too in a way. He knew Tony was just as excited to share the news with Pepper and Rhodey. And they planned on meeting up with Peter and May at the café in the morning to tell them. They were both over the moon about this decision. They had debated waiting until things were finalized and baby was actually on its way before telling anyone, but both had agreed they would need the support system to get through the long road this journey would be, and decided to tell the people they cared most about as quickly as possible.

“A _fertility_ clinic?” Bucky asked, unsure what that meant.

“Yeah. Specifically, one that specializes in surrogacy.” Steve added with a smile as he saw realization dawn on his best friend's face. Natasha had been dancing in her seat since Steve had started talking.

“You guys are going for it?” she exclaimed finally.

“Yup, we're going to try and have our own baby,” Tony answered, looking at Steve with the happiest grin on his face, as Nat squealed in delight at the news.

“This is the best news ever! I’m going to be an auntie?”

Steve laughed at her enthusiasm. “Calm down there. We have a heck of a lot of stuff to figure out first. Might take a really long time before we’re even close to that.”

“Seriously, the laws around this in New York are kind of insane,” Tony added. “Don’t get me wrong, it makes sense, and it’s made to protect everyone involved but it is a lot. That was the meeting we had today, just figuring out options. I need to get the lawyers involved on Monday, and we need to have some really serious discussions about what works for us… Steve isn’t kidding, this might take a while. Add in the fact that this won't exactly be a low profile pregnancy for them, might make it even harder to find anyone willing to do it, and making sure it all fits in the lines of all the rules and laws…” Tony sighed as the weight of the conversation they'd had over lunch settled.

Steve had moved closer to Tony, wrapping his arms around his shoulders, as Tony slumped back into his chest, grabbing onto Steve’s arm. “That's part of why we wanted to tell you guys early on. It'll be hard, and stressful. We didn’t want anyone worrying about why we might be acting different. And, selfishly, we know we’re going to need all the support we can get.”

“Well, we are here, just let us know what you need. Whatever happens, we're happy for you guys.” Bucky smiled at them, Steve knowing he meant every word.

“Ok, hate to cut this short but the hockey game is on. I love you babe, but I missed three weeks of hockey, so I’m going to watch the last one,” Steve kissed Tony's forehead, the brunette having shifted to look up at home, a look of faux-shock on his face. Steve laughed at his antics as he headed to the fridge to grab beers for him and Bucky.

“Oh please! You streamed some kind of sport when we were in Spain,” Tony added.

“It was soccer. Not hockey.” Steve called over his shoulder as he heard Natasha tell Tony he could help her get dessert ready, which she had promised them she would take care of.

Bucky and Steve settled on the couch, concentrating on the second period of the game, the blond getting a rundown of possible playoff runs and how close they were with wins and losses today across the league and what had happened while they’d been away.

“So, how you feelin’ about all this surrogacy stuff?” Bucky asked during an ad, genuine concern on his face.

“It's a lot, not gonna lie. I thought it'd be easier for some reason, but since we might need to find someone out of state, plus all the legal paperwork, it's a lot.” Steve was thankful already they’d decided to talk to their friends about it, and thankful he and Bucky had always been very open about talking about their relationships, even if it did get in the realm of TMI sometimes. “Tony wasn’t kidding, we need to have some really serious discussions to figure out what we want to do.”

“Well, I meant it. Whatever you need, just say the word. Even if it's just an extra hour at the gym to blow off some steam.”

“Thanks Buck, I appreciate it. I’ll try to spare you some of the details as we go. I’m sure you won't want to hear that much about my sex life.”

“Meh, I’ve never minded before. This is a bit different, but not by much. Just ‘cause it isn’t making babies like we learned in grade school, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk about it.”

“Fuck that class was awkward!” Steve laughed at the memory.

“I still haven’t seen your face as red as when the teacher picked you for the whole banana-condom situation.” They both burst out laughing at the memory. “Speaking of your sex life, honeymoon was good? For real?” Bucky asked when they’d regained a minimum of composure.

“Yeah, it was. We had a good time, was nice to just be us and not be ‘The Starks', you know? No paparazzi, no reporters, no one cared. It was nice, haven’t felt that relaxed in months. And the sex was good too, once I got over myself. You seriously need to go to our place in France.”

“Can we borrow the jet too?” Bucky asked jokingly.

“I don’t see why not,” Steve shrugged, genuinely not seeing an issue with it. Just then Natasha started howling in the kitchen. Bucky looked at Steve with a raised brow. “I’m thinking this might have to do with me telling Tony about that time I went on a date with Nat… Things are good between you two?”

“Real good. Just takin' things easy, but it is so good, man. She is amazing, and I’m kicking myself for not hanging out with her more before… but then, maybe the timing wouldn't have been right and maybe I wouldn’t have this now. Who knows. But, I’m happy. We're real happy.”

“That’s great, I’m happy for you guys.” Steve leaned over to bump their shoulders together. “Did you ever think we'd be here a year ago? Crazy how things have changed in such a short time, huh.”

“I know. Who'd'a thought you'd be married before me?! Much less to a celebrity,” Bucky returned Steve's shoulder bump, smiling at the blond who was shaking his head.

“You're lucky I love you, ‘cause I’d kick your ass right now,” Steve answered, taking a sip of his beer, an affectionate smile on his face.

“Ha! You wish you could get your hands on my ass. Love you too, though.”

“Are you hitting on my boyfriend, Rogers?” Natasha asked as she and Tony came into the living room.

“He was my best friend before he was your boyfriend. I have dibs,” Steve answered, making the redhead laugh. Steve caught Tony as he let himself fall into his arms, while Natasha curled into Bucky's side gracefully. “Miss me already?” Steve asked his husband as he kissed the top of his head.

“You'd think we’d be tired of each other after three weeks of seeing no one else, huh?” Tony wrapped his arms tightly around Steve's chest, settling in comfortably, stretching out his legs along the sectional.

“Never gonna get tired of you, baby.” Steve let his hand roam up Tony's side, knowing the brunette was likely to fall asleep in the next few minutes, given the day they’d had, and the jet lag that was still affect his husband.

They all settled in as the last period of the game resumed. Just as Steve expected, Tony quickly fell asleep against him, even as Bucky complained about ref calls and goals besides him. Natasha read quietly, only chiming in when Bucky got too excited. And Steve wouldn’t have traded this afternoon for anything, surrounded by his family and feeling loved and supported. Knowing no matter what happened, they wouldn’t be facing it alone.

**Author's Note:**

> And, back to our regularly scheduled fluff ;) Writing smut was fun, but I finally got some inspiration back to edit this one (it's been written for a while, but I couldn't get it to flow until this afternoon).
> 
> I love Steve and Bucky and realized it had been a while since they'd had some solo time, so I added more of that dynamic in this one, and I'm happy with how it came out. I hope you like it too!
> 
> (And, just a tease, I have started writing a couple of the fics that end this 'chapter' if we will... And damn I love them and they are GOOOOOD! I can't wait to get to share them with you, but it'll probably be a little ways away. We shall see ;) Had to share.).


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